Load balancing is a software technique that balances amounts of data sent over different network segments, such that the aggregate transmission rate may be maximized.
Fail over and fail back are techniques to redirect data transmissions over network segments after detecting a segment failure (e.g., line outages, damage, etc.). “Fail over” refers to switching from a primary network segment to a secondary network segment when a problem is detected on the primary segment. “Fail back” refers to reconnecting the primary segment after the failure has been corrected.